WORKING -- Joey Remmers

-- Story by Paul Clinton, photo by Don Leach

HE IS

Plying his body art on willing souls

NEEDLE PAINTER

For Joey Remmers, tattooing is just another way to practice his art.

When he’s not using an oil brush, the Balboa Peninsula painter expresses

himself with a needle.

“I’m in this business because I’m a painter,” Remmers said. “I get to

draw every day.”

Remmers, 22, works at Skinworks Tattoo Studio, three blocks from his

home.

He moved to the area from Ventura County in December, wanting a change

from the drudgery of heavy-metal tattoos. Remmers also had an eye on the

clusters of art galleries in Newport Beach.

Just good intentions

Remmers has been tattooing clients for four years as a professional.

But he first experimented on himself when he was 12.

He still gets strange glances from people who assume his tattoos mean

he has bad intentions, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,

Remmers said.

“If you’re going to get a tattoo, it should be a symbol of your

uniqueness,” Remmers said. “You don’t want something 1,000 other people

have.”

Many of the requests Remmers gets from people have struck him as a

little odd. One guy wanted “YOUR NAME” tattooed on himself so he could

use a particular pickup line in bars with women.

Also, Remmers refuses those who want “white power” or “black panther”

tattoos.

“For someone to come in here and want a swastika, I’ll kick them out,”

Remmers said. “I’m not going to be a part of any kind of ignorance or

stupidity.”

Yes, it hurts

Remmers won’t tattoo someone who is intoxicated. Alcohol saps Vitamin

K from the body, a nutrient that helps to control bleeding.

He has had some who cry out while under the needle, as well as those

who pass out. Women, he has noticed, have a greater tolerance for pain. A

sign reading “Hell Yes, It Hurts,” hangs in the shop’s parlor.

Most of the time, Remmers sees five or six customers a week, but

during the summer rush, he can work on an average of 30 to 40 people.